by Nicola Marsh
“Babe?”
“Hmm?” She mumbled, reluctantly prying her eyelids open and rolling onto her side to face him.
“We need to buckle in.” He held up a giant seat belt encompassing the bed, one for each. “Safety precaution.”
“Like that?” She pointed at his condom-covered erection, studying it for the first time and suitably impressed. They bred big boys Down Under.
“Minx.” He buckled them into one belt, a very snug fit. Not that she was complaining, when he hooked her top leg over his hip and nudged her entrance.
“Consider this a prelude to that wild sex you requested at the airport.”
“But—” Her protest, along the lines of “this should be a onetime thing/you need to work on the island/we’ve both fulfilled a fantasy let’s leave it at that,” died on her lips as he entered her in one smooth thrust.
He filled her so completely, so fully, that she stared at him in wonder as he moved in and out, the pleasure starting to build all over again.
“You’re so wet,” he said, watching where their bodies joined. She followed his line of sight and gasped, the sight of him pumping into her where her legs spread beyond erotic.
“You like to watch too, huh?” He slid his hand down and fingered her clit, the zap of pleasure so intense she almost came apart.
There was something infinitely hedonistic about watching, and she found it an incredible turn-on.
But Jett wasn’t done with her so easily and with a deft move, he shifted his hips so he thrust higher and deeper, hitting a sweet spot inside while circling her clit with his finger.
This time, the tension built quicker, spiraling out of control so fast she felt light-headed. Mindless with the escalating pleasure, she met him thrust for thrust, her hips slapping against his as his finger picked up tempo along with his thrusts.
“Jett, I’m coming…”
He pumped so hard the buckle on the seat belt popped.
“Fuck—” His mouth crashed onto hers, swallowing her scream of ecstasy and his deep-throated growl as they came together, his final thrust so high Allegra belatedly wondered if she’d ever walk again.
Not that she cared. Right now, she didn’t care about much, beyond how she could abduct Jett on the island and keep him as her sex slave for the week ahead.
Chapter Three
“Thanks for flying with us. We hope you had a pleasant flight.”
Jett grinned at the flight attendant bidding farewell to passengers as they exited the plane eight hours later. Pleasant wasn’t a word he’d use to describe the flight from LA to Palm Bay. More like frigging awesome.
“She knows,” Allegra hissed, squeezing his hand a tad tight.
“Knows what?” He ducked down to nibble her earlobe. “Knows that our initiation into the mile-high club was the best fuck I’ve had in ages, or the fact I went down on you another three times after that?”
A crimson blush stained her cheeks and he laughed. “Relax. Why do you think the airline offers those romance packages? They probably see smug, satisfied passengers leaving their flights all the time.”
Allegra ducked her head, using her hair to shield her face, but not before he’d seen the smug satisfaction he’d predicted for those lucky first-class passengers in the private cabins.
Pity Reeve had blown all their company money. He could get used to traveling in style. If he didn’t land the lucrative advertising gig for the island’s luxury resort chain around the world and had to use his savings to start a new company from scratch without a business partner…well, he’d barely be able afford coach class.
“You’re awfully quiet,” he said, stopping where the tarmac met the terminus to allow a stunning local girl to place frangipani leis around their necks.
He smiled his gratitude as Allegra said, “Thanks,” waiting until they entered the terminal to respond.
She stopped and slid her hand out of his, using it to tuck windblown strands behind her ear. “I’m a little nervous.”
“Why?”
Her nose crinkled adorably. “Aren’t you feeling the teensiest bit awkward?
“Because we had sensational sex on a plane?” He shook his head. “Sorry, babe. No awkwardness here. Simply a giant hard-on from talking about it and wanting a repeat the moment we get to the hotel.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“Don’t expect me to sugar-coat anything.” He placed a finger under her chin and gently closed her mouth. “Not after what we shared up there.”
She shifted her weight from side to side, fiddled with the strap on her handbag, and repeated the hair-behind-the-ear thing.
Why was she nervous? He’d pegged her to be late twenties, so it wasn’t like she was a virgin or anything. Why the sudden recalcitrance now?
He held his hands out, palm up, and wiggled his fingers. “Come on, give it to me straight. I’m a big boy, I can take it.”
Her top teeth snagged her bottom lip—exactly what he’d like to do—before she blurted, “I don’t know what to do from here.”
“How so?”
“I’ve never had sex on a plane with a virtual stranger before.” She ticked off points on one hand. “I don’t have much sex, period, so am a tad clueless here.” Another finger bent down. “I have no idea of morning-after etiquette.” Her pinkie joined the rest. “And lastly, I assumed what happened up there was a one-night thing, and have no clue whether you want to have a fling while we’re here or just walk away now or—”
He kissed her, more than a little surprised that every time he did it was like the first: similar to the time he’d been playing around with an electrical outlet and a hairpin as a kid and received a jolt of electricity for his troubles.
Now, like the first time at LAX and many times on the plane, a thousand volts of pure lust short-circuited his brain and headed south.
A few breathless moments later she tore her mouth from his and glared.
He grinned. “Does that answer your questions?”
“No.” She pouted and he wanted to kiss her all over again.
“Fine, you need it spelled out?” He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Yeah, I’m here for a few days, for work, and it’s pretty damn important. But if you need a sexathon partner, I’m your guy.”
She laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” she said, which only served to make her laugh harder.
“If you’re insulting my manhood again, it may get performance anxiety.”
“That thing?” Her sultry gaze zeroed in on his cock. “I bow down to it.”
Which of course brought an instant image of her doing exactly that to mind, with her mouth wrapped around him…
“We’re in public,” he said, his tone barely above a low growl. “And you’re making walking extremely difficult for me.”
This seemed to set her off again and she practically howled with laughter.
“If you don’t tell me what’s so damn funny right this minute, I promise to spank you so hard I won’t be the only one unable to walk.”
A flicker of heat darkened her eyes to reflect the perfect robin’s-egg blue sky. He groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re into that kinky shit.”
She shot him a coy glance from beneath lowered lashes. “You’re not?”
He shook his head. “I prefer pleasure in the bedroom, not pain.”
“Me, too.” She elbowed him. “I was kidding.”
“Phew.” He wiped his brow. “Now are you going to tell me what’s so funny?”
Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “You mentioned sexathon and that got me thinking about our rationed condom situation on the plane.”
“What about it?”
She smirked and pointed at her hand luggage. “When I had another shower after our…ah…interlude in the sky, I noticed Zoe hadn’t just packed lingerie.”
Jett groaned and smacked his head. “Don’t tell me, we could’ve been fucking our way across the Pacific.
”
“Okay then, I won’t tell you.” Her lips curved in a saucy smile that made him ache with wanting her. “But look on the bright side, we have a whole box to get through now that we’re here.”
“So you’re saying—”
“You and me. Hot island fling. For however long we’ve got.” She held out her hand to shake on it. “You in?”
“Babe, I’m in all the way.”
He pulled her flush against him to prove it.
…
Allegra had staked a claim poolside and laid her towel and iPad on a banana lounge when her cell beeped and Zoe’s face appeared on the screen via Skype.
She popped the beach umbrella over the lounger, spread the towel, and sat before answering. “Hope you’ve got more background info on Kaluna, Zo-Zo. I’m about to do some finessing on my pitch in the sun.”
Zoe’s wide brown eyes sparkled with mischief. “Working in the sun is good. You’ll get a tan. And that means you can strip off for some hot, young stud while you’re on the island so it’s not all work and no play.”
Allegra couldn’t stop the grin spreading across her face.
Zoe yelped. “Oh my God. What’s that look for? You only just arrived. Have you already hooked up with someone? Good for you—”
“Slow down, you’re giving me a headache.”
“Jet lag or no sleep?” Zoe smirked. “Despite your lack of a groom, tell me the lingerie came in handy.”
Very handy, considering her inadvertent lingerie trail had led Jett straight to her.
“It served a purpose,” she said, trying to keep a straight face and failing.
“You did get some!” Zoe jabbed a finger at her. “I want to know every last filthy detail.”
“How come you weren’t this interested when I was engaged?”
“Puh-lease.” Zoe rolled her eyes. “Flint-baby might’ve been a nice guy and knew all the right people but he was a decrepit old fart who probably couldn’t get it up for longer than a minute.”
Shocked into silence, Allegra stared at the screen.
Zoe winced. “Sorry? Did I go too far?” She shrugged. “You know me. Blunt as ever. Anyway, forget”—she held up her pinkie and let it droop—“and back to the hot stud.”
Allegra couldn’t help it. She laughed, her loud guffaw drawing curious glances from fellow poolside patrons.
She’d bonded with Zoe the moment the outrageous Texan had strutted into her dorm the final year at boarding school, toting a cowboy hat, a bottle of tequila, and a porn mag filled with well-hung naked guys.
Allegra had been bored out of her brain for too long, and rooming with Zoe had injected a much-needed shot of color into her dull life.
They couldn’t have been more opposite: brash, loud-talking Zoe came from new money when her Texan daddy struck oil, and quiet, refined Allegra came from old money, Beverly Hills socialites as far back as her great-grandfather, who’d founded some art deco movie studio.
But Allegra respected Zoe’s brand of blunt honesty, something she rarely came across in the snobby princesses at boarding school or among her parents’ fake friends.
And Zoe loved teasing her in return. A constant barrage that sometimes resulted in a headache, but more often than not ended up in them calling out for pizza and sharing the last tub of Ben & Jerry’s.
Having her best friend get the same marketing degree in college had been a bonus, and when Allegra offered Zoe a partnership to launch an advertising firm in LA, the deal had been sealed.
But not as she’d anticipated. Zoe admired her daddy’s tenacity and how he made his money the hard way and that’s what she wanted to do, too. She wouldn’t accept equal partnership in the firm but demanded a job instead—as Allegra’s PA.
After much heated debate, Allegra had finally succumbed, her admiration knowing no bounds for her friend who could buy the entire 90210 suburb twice over with her family money if she wanted to, but preferred to do it the hard way.
Allegra had no such compunction. She happily used her trust fund set up by the grandparents, who’d died when she was a baby, to launch her company. Though she did have something in common with Zoe’s DIY vision. Allegra’s parents had never been there for her in any capacity, and making AW Advertising a roaring success was as much about proving she could do anything without them as earning respect in the industry.
Which meant she had to get her business back on track. No way would she lose it and have her supercilious parents look down their snooty noses to say “We told you so.”
“You’ve zoned out. Which means you have hooked up with a hottie.” Zoe snapped her fingers. “Let me guess. You met someone on the plane? Some rich dude in first class who impressed you with his portfolio.”
“Not even close.” Allegra made a zipping motion over her lips. “Besides, I don’t kiss and tell.”
Zoe squealed. “Gotta admit, girlfriend, I didn’t think you had it in you.”
That made two of them.
What Allegra had done with Jett on that plane defied explanation. She’d had oral sex before but having Jett go down on her…there were no words to describe it. “Sublime” came close, but even that was inadequate for how he’d made her feel. Over and over again.
And the sex itself…she’d never been a fan of swearing but hearing his dirty talk had heightened the experience.
The fact that he’d been well endowed? Big bonus. Huge. Her bikini bottoms dampened at the thought.
“Deets, please.”
Allegra shook her head. “No details.”
Zoe pouted. “Fine, be like that. Means I won’t tell you what my research on Kaluna dug up.”
“Work is different.”
Zoe clamped her lips shut.
“I’ll fire you.”
Zoe let out a hoot, exactly as Allegra expected. Her BFF couldn’t stay silent for more than two seconds, and that was being generous.
“You fire me? Yeah, right.” Zoe tapped her bottom lip, pretending to ponder. “Let’s see. That makes the eight hundred and fifty-seventh time you’ve threatened to fire me, which we both know is bull on your part, because you couldn’t survive without me.”
“Ego much?”
Zoe smirked. “I can afford to have an ego when I’m good at what I do.”
“Okay, genius, tell me what you discovered.”
“Well, seeing as you asked so nicely…” Zoe crooked her finger at the screen. “It’s not just the Palm Bay resort we can land if we’re lucky. Kaluna’s entire hotel chain’s advertising is up for grabs.”
“Wow.” Allegra sat a little straighter. “How many resorts are we talking?”
“Whitsundays in Australia, Greek islands in the Mediterranean, a tiny Italian island off the coast of Capri, the Caribbean, and Palm Bay.” Zoe counted them off on her fingers, then rubbed her forefinger and thumb together to indicate big bucks.
“That’s mega.”
If AW Advertising landed Kaluna Resorts, she’d be set for life. She could expand, hire extra staff, give Zoe a massive bonus and promote her—to partner, and this time she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“I know you’re working this week, and it’s vital we score a chance to pitch, but hun?” Zoe waggled her finger. “Try to squeeze in a little R & R. Or S & R in your case.”
“Dare I ask what the S stands for?”
“Sex, of course. Or stud-muffin. Or—”
“I get the picture, thanks.”
Zoe giggled. “By that smug glow you’ve got going on, you’ve already had sex with a stud-muffin, even if you won’t tell me about it.” Zoe paused and tilted her head to one side. “You owe me, for giving up a date with a dildo model to do your research.”
“Dildo model? Seriously?”
“Just doing my duty for all womanhood and checking if the size of the product being sold is proportional.”
Allegra laughed. “I’m going over my preliminary pitch now, then figuring out how to set up a meeting with Kai Kaluna. So be a doll a
nd see if you can find out if he already has a short list and who’s on it.”
The spark in Zoe’s eyes faded. “There’s something else you should know but you’ve been through a shitty time lately and I’d rather wait ’til you got back—”
“Just tell me already.”
Zoe sucked in a breath, puffed out her cheeks, before blowing it out. “Those other new accounts you pitched for that we were counting on? We didn’t get them.”
Allegra’s blood ran cold as she clutched the phone so hard her fingers cramped. “What happened?”
“Both companies had asshat advisers who suggested they go with longer-established companies.”
Asshats indeed. After losing her biggest client, she’d been counting on new accounts coming on board. Without them, AW Advertising wouldn’t just be struggling to stay in business. It’d be on the verge of bankruptcy.
Shit.
“Which ones?”
Zoe continued. “Does it matter? The fools went with boring establishment rather than new and innovative. Stupid old boys’ club.”
Allegra knew the type. Stuffy, pompous pricks. Fake, backslapping air-kissers, all of them—the kind of people her parents hung out with.
“So set up that meeting with Kaluna pronto.” Zoe shifted the phone so Allegra could see the spreadsheets on the PC in the background. “Because by my calculations, if you don’t land that campaign, we’re in deep doggy doo.”
That’s when the enormity of the situation detonated.
AW Advertising had been in trouble when she’d made this trip to score an appointment with Kai Kaluna. Now, her company was beyond trouble. She had to land this deal. It was imperative.
In the next few days, she’d be making the pitch of her life. And losing wasn’t an option.
Damn.
Taking her silence for agreement, Zoe continued. “I’ve spent the last sixty minutes preparing a portfolio on Kaluna. I could e-mail you the main stuff but it’s probably too short a time frame to courier the rest.”
In a second, Allegra made the kind of lightning-fast decision that had won her pitches in the past. “Jump on the next flight out here. Bring everything. Pack my power suit. And yours. Because we’re doing this as a team.”
